Measuring Up
by Franala
Summary: Cowritten by Kristen3: Fran, the soontobe Mrs. Sheffield, does some measuring in Maxwell’s closet and is surprised at what she finds.
1. Default Chapter

_**Disclaimer: **"The Nanny" is a copyright of Sony Pictures, Tri-Star Television, High School Sweethearts, Sternin and Fraser's Ink, Inc. and CBS Television. No infringement of rights is meant or implied. Just borrowing these great characters created by Fran and Peter. No harm intended._

_**Authors Note: **This fanfic was co-authored by Kristen3, who most recently wrote 'After Paris' amoung other 'Nanny' fanfics. Thanks for making my idea come alive. I had a blast writing it with you:)_

**Measuring Up**

Fran had just seen the children off to school and Maxwell off to a busy day at the theater, and was standing in the downstairs foyer when Niles came in the room.

"What are your plans for today Miss Fine? Having lunch with Miss Toriello?" asked Niles.

"No, Val is on vacation with her parents. Anyway, I have something more important to do today," Fran replied.

"Oh, and what is that?" questioned Niles.

"I got some measuring to do. If you know what I mean, "winked Fran as she pulled the tape measure out to express her point.

"Oh, good luck with that Miss Fine. You're going to need," laughed Niles as Fran just glared at him with one of her looks. Niles was so happy his best friend was finally getting married, and to Mr. Sheffield.

"So, I'll be upstairs Niles if you need me," Fran said as she started up the stairs to her soon-to-be new bedroom.


	2. Chap 2

Fran walked upstairs, thinking about how, in just a few weeks, she was finally going to be a married woman! And, not only that, but this was a guy she really loved. She couldn't believe she'd ever thought she loved Danny, her former fiancé. That was just lust, she told herself. This is the real thing.

With all these thoughts swimming around in her head, Fran entered what would soon be her bedroom. She was going to measure Max's closet to see how many of her clothes would fit. Given the enormous size of her wardrobe, this was going to be easier said than done. Fran took a few measurements. It was clear that this was simply not going to work. Not even half her outfits would fit in here, unless she could persuade Maxwell to get rid of every suit he owned. Since that didn't seem likely, Fran began to see if there was anything she could remove to make room.

The closet was fairly empty, except of course for Maxwell's clothes. As Fran looked around, a box caught her eye. It sat in the corner, all alone, covered in dust. She reached in and pulled it out. Whatever was in it weighed a ton. Fran examined the box. "This can't be anything important," she said aloud. "Otherwise Max wouldn't have buried it all the way in the back of the closet."

Fran lugged the box toward the bedroom door, intending to throw it out later. That was probably what Max was intending to do with it anyway, he was just too busy to find the time. She set the box on the floor and started back toward the closet. _'There's gotta be something else in there I can get rid of,'_ Fran thought. But before she could see if there was, something inside her told her to go back and see what was in the box before throwing it out. Fran opened the box, not really knowing what she expected to find inside.

As she set the lid on the floor and peered inside, Fran saw the box was filled with mementos of the children's childhood. She pulled out a smaller box which was obviously decorated by one of the children with paint and pasta glued on it. Inside Fran found baby photos.

"Aww, look what a cute baby Maggie was," Fran said while flipping through the photos. "Oh, and I can see B was always a trickster," Fran laughed to herself as she held a photo of B at the age of 4 chasing Maggie around with a water gun.

Next Fran came to a picture of Maxwell at the hospital holding newborn Gracie in his arms standing next to Sara's bed. "Look at my precious Gracie. I almost forget sometimes that she is not really mine," sighed Fran.

After putting the photos down, Fran looked back in the box and saw a pink book sticking out. _'Hmm...I wonder what's in here,'_ she thought.

Upon closer inspection, Fran discovered that the book was a diary. When she opened it, all the entries were written in neat, yet unfamiliar handwriting. _'This must be Sara's,'_ Fran thought.

"July 12th - Maggie smiled at me this afternoon. I had to call Max at the theater to tell him. Maggie is so beautiful! God, I love being a mother!" Fran couldn't help feeling a little strange about reading this. After all, this was someone's diary. She felt as if she were trespassing or something.  
  
It was also strange to see that, although Fran loved these kids like they were hers, they really weren't. She wasn't the one who brought them into the world. '_This is silly_,' Fran thought. '_I've raised them for five years now, and I love them. That makes me a mother.'_  
  
Without really thinking, Fran flipped ahead in the diary. "March 10th - The doctor called this afternoon. The results of my tests are back. I'm going to have another baby!! This will make three! I have a feeling this one's a girl. I can't wait till the baby gets here! Max is thrilled too. I couldn't be happier." Fran was touched, until she looked at the year. 1992. In fact, this entry was written only a few years before Sara passed away. She put the book down. This was far too personal for her to be reading, especially since all of it was written by a woman who was virtually a stranger to her.

Feeling uncomfortable with reading the diary, Fran set it aside and started exploring what else was in the box. She picked up a stack of the children's artwork and a piece of paper fell out.

"Hmm...I wonder what this is," Fran said as she picked up the paper. As she opened it she could tell it was letter written in Maxwell's handwriting. "Ahh, let's see what my sweetie Maxwell had to say."

And Fran began to read the letter.

_My Dearest Sara,_

_I cannot believe you are gone. I miss you terribly. If it had to happen to one of us, why not me? I would do anything to have you back with me and our children. Oh, the children...I don't know how they will go on without you. Poor little Grace is so young. But don't you worry she will always know her mother. I will make sure of that. I know I'll never love anyone as much as I love you._

That was all Fran could take and she stopped reading the letter. "How am I ever going to live up to Sara in Maxwell's mind?" Fran question aloud to herself.

Just then Fran heard a voice calling her. As she looked up, there before her stood Sara.

Fran did a double take. "What the--?" She looked down at the things lying on the floor, all personal possessions of Sara's. Suddenly, Fran felt terribly guilty to be snooping like this.  
  
As if she had read Fran's mind, Sara smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you for looking in the box. In fact, I had hoped you would."  
  
"What a minute, what are you doing here?" Fran asked, shocked. A dead woman was standing here in front of her. This made no sense.  
  
"No, you're not going crazy," Sara said as Fran began to speak. "It's just that I noticed you were looking through the box, and I thought it was time I paid you a visit."  
  
"Why?" Fran asked.  
  
"Well, I know you and Max are going to be married in a few weeks, and I know you're having some doubts right now. I thought I could help reassure you," Sara said.  
  
"Reassure me? How?" Fran asked, still not quite sure what to make of what was happening.  
  
"I know you feel like you're going to take my place in the children's lives. Please don't worry about that. Max has always made sure that they won't forget me," Sara said.  
  
"Yeah, but they're your children," Fran said, looking at the picture of her in the hospital having Grace. "You're the one who gave birth to them. I'm really just the nanny."  
  
"You were never _just _the nanny," Sara corrected. "You didn't only take care of the children, you also had to take care of Max's heart, too."  
  
"He loved you so much," Fran said.  
  
"He loves _you,_ too," Sara said. She could tell that Fran was still skeptical. "Let me ask you a question. How did you and Max first meet?"  
  
"I knocked on the door selling cosmetics, and next thing I knew, I was the nanny. I didn't know the first thing about raising kids!" Fran said.  
  
Sara laughed. "That's right. And what do you suppose brought you to the door that day?"  
  
"Shades of the Orient Cosmetics?" Fran joked. What on earth was Sara getting at?  
  
"No, Fran, I mean, how is it you ended up on this particular doorstep on the same day Max was interviewing nannies?" Sara asked.  
  
Fran shrugged. "Just luck, I guess. Fate."  
  
"With a little help from above," Sara said with a smile. "Yes, Fran, it's true. I sent you here."

Fran sat there completely dumbfounded. "_You_ sent me here? How? Why?"

Sara quietly giggled as she could tell Fran's mind was reeling with questions. "I had been watching you when you worked in the bridal shop in Flushing. I knew you were better then that place and Danny Imperiali. You deserved better. I could tell then what a warm, caring, and loving person you were and I knew you were just what this family needed. And here you are," explained Sara.

"Wow, I can't believe all this. How did you know Max would hire me?" asked a still stunned Fran.

"I knew he would see that sparkle in you," Sara replied. "But I did get a little worried when he fired you the first day," she laughed.

"Yeah, we always didn't see eye to eye. He can be so stubborn sometimes," Fran smiled as she thought back on her first day.

"I can't thank you enough for what you have done for our children," continued Sara.

"_Our_ children?" questioned Fran.

"Yes, Fran, our children. They are every much yours as they are mine now. You have done such a wonderful job raising them. I am so proud of what they have grown into. That is thanks to you, you know," smiled Sara.

"Oh, thank you Sara. But I didn't do much. I was just there for them and loved them. I really do love those children as if they were mine," said Fran.

"And they love you, too...very much. This family loves and needs you Fran," expressed Sara. "And just look what you have done for Max."

Fran shrugged again. "I didn't do anything special. He had a broken heart, I just did the best I could to put it back together."  
  
"That's exactly what I hoped you would do. Don't you see? I didn't just send you here to take care of the children. Oh, I knew you could do that, but I was even more worried about Max," Sara said.  
  
"I appreciate you telling me all this, but I just don't know if I can live up to your expectations. I mean, Max had this whole life with you," Fran indicated the pictures and letters that were now scattered on the floor. "I missed out on all of that."  
  
"So what? So the kids are genetically mine and not yours. Who celebrated with Maggie after her first kiss? Not me. You did. Who knew just how to handle it when Brighton got in trouble for smoking? You. Who helped Grace come out of her shell? You. I didn't do any of those things." Sara said.  
  
"I was the nanny; it was my job," Fran said. "They needed a mother, and I was the closest thing around."  
  
Sara sighed. She hadn't expected this conversation to be so difficult. Fran seemed determined to downplay the effect she'd had on this family. But Sara had one last trick up her sleeve that just might make Fran understand. "Before I go, I want you to do something for me."  
  
"What?" Fran asked.  
  
"I want you to read something I wrote in my diary. Check the entry for April 5th. I wrote

it a few days after I brought Gracie home from the hospital," Sara said.  
  
Fran gave Sara a confused look, but she picked up the diary and proceeded to find the page.

As Fran found the page she began to read.

_Dear Diary,_

_I am so blessed to now have three beautiful children. I love them so much and they are the lights of my life. I can't image my life without them, or without Maxwell. _

_But if anything were to ever happen to me, I only hope that they would be strong and be there for each other. I know it would be hard at first, but I'd hope they would be ok. I would only want them to move past their grief and be happy. And I would also hope one day Maxwell would find a new love who would be loving and supporting to him and our children. I know Maxwell will need that pillar of strength to guide him. _

Fran stopped reading there. She was just trying to process all that she had just read.

Sensing Fran's confusion Sara said, "See Fran, Maxwell has found that special person. I am happy that you two are getting married."

For probably the first time in her entire life, Fran Fine was speechless. "I-I don't know what to say!" she gasped.  
  
Sara smiled. She knew she had finally broken through to Fran. "When I wrote that, I was just a young mother looking ahead to the future. I had no way of knowing that my words would come true so soon."  
  
"How could you have?" Fran asked. "It was a freak accident."  
  
"I know, and I would give almost anything to take that day back. But since I obviously can't do that, the best I can hope for now is to have my family find a way to be happy," Sara replied.  
  
"I really am touched by all this," Fran admitted. "But I've got to tell you, I'm still not sure I can do it. I've never been a wife before! Just from reading all this stuff, it seems like you were the perfect wife. Like Donna Reed or something."  
  
Sara burst out laughing. "What, you think I never had doubts? Look, you're going to make mistakes along the way. You and Maxwell will probably fight sometimes. In fact, seeing your family, I would say you two are going to fight quite a bit! But I promise you, marrying him will all be worth it."  
  
Fran let out a relieved sigh. Now she knew she could make mistakes, and still be OK.


	3. Chap 3 The End

Just then a noise from downstairs caught Fran's attention. It was the kids barging in from school, quickly followed by Maxwell. "Fran?" he called from the bottom of the stairs.  
  
Fran stuck her head out the bedroom door, and yelled, "I'll be down in a minute!" She turned back around. "Thank -" she started to say. But there was no one there.

"Hmm, where did she go? Was this all my imagination?," Fran questioned as she walked over to the box to replace the diary. As she looked down she saw a rose lying on the floor where Sara just stood.

As Fran bent down to pick it up she heard a whisper say, "Be happy, Fran."

"Fran?" Maxwell called again, this time more urgently. After taking one last look around the room, Fran headed downstairs with the rose. Max smiled when he saw her and kissed her. Max took the rose from her hand. "Where did you get this?"

Fran looked over at the kids who were listening attentively. "Uh, I'll tell you in the kitchen," she said. Somehow she didn't think she should say something like this in front of anyone other than Max.

Maxwell was clearly confused, but he followed her into the kitchen anyway. When they arrived, Fran took a deep breath, and said, "I was trying to see if my clothes would fit in your closet today, and I came across this box,"

Max cut her off. "Full of Sara's things," he finished for her. "When she passed away, there were certain things of hers I just couldn't bear to have lying around the house anymore. It was just too painful. Rather than get rid of them, I quickly put them in a box in my closet. I had always intended to decide what to do with them at some point."

Fran nodded. "Well, I kind of looked through it a little. I had forgotten how cute the kids were when they were babies!" She looked down at the floor and added, "I read Sara's diary, too."

Max could tell that Fran was afraid he was angry with her for looking at these things. All he could do was smile. "Oh, Fran, I wish you could've known her. Every day, I'm more certain she would've adored you."

Fran smiled. "I'd be willing to bet on that. See, you're going to think I'm nuts, but I saw her! She talked to me, Max!" He looked at her skeptically. "It's true!" Fran said. "I was having some doubts after seeing what your life with her was like, but she made me feel better."

"Is that where you got the rose?" Max asked.

Fran nodded. "It was sitting on the floor when she left. I think she wanted me to give it to you."

Max looked down at the rose in his hand. "You know, pink roses were always her favorite flowers."

"Yes, I remember you used to bring mom pink roses all the time dad," said Maggie as she walked into the kitchen followed by the other two Sheffield children. They had been listening at the door the whole time, as they were curious what Fran and their father were up to.

"And how do you three know what we were talking about?" questioned Max.

"We have been listening to you two the whole time at the door," Brighton said.

"And who taught you to listen in on people's private conversation?" inquired Max to his three children.

All three kids and Fran said, "Niles," in unison.

"Sir, I always tell them to use the intercom first. It's safer, less likely chance of getting caught," Niles's voice said over the intercom.

"Niles, please give us a moment. We're having a family discussion," Max said.  
  
"Well, all right, Sir, but I always thought I was part of the family," the butler replied, somewhat miffed.  
  
Fran waited till she heard the intercom turn off before speaking. She turned to the children. "Are you guys sure you're OK with me marrying your father?"  
  
"Of course we are, Fran. We love you, and we know you're going to make a great mom," Grace replied.  
  
"Good, because I love you three so much. But I don't want you to ever forget your mother," Fran said.  
  
"Neither do I," Max agreed. "You know, you children are very lucky. Not everyone has two mothers."

"Who would have thought I would have three great kids while I was still in my 20's," Fran said just as Niles was coming down the kitchen stairs.

"If you're still in your 20's, then this accent is fake," retorted Niles. As everyone laughed,

Fran knew from that moment on everything was going to be all right. In a few weeks, she was going to be Mrs. Sheffield and she couldn't be happier.

_**The End**_

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